Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Reflection

Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. - Peter Drucker

I seem to have fallen a bit behind with my CPD23 posts, although in a way this lateness is timed perfectly. Last week was Thing 5: Reflective Practice. In many ways, I do this on a regular basis on my personal blog. I will ruminate on the things I pursue, whether in reading or knitting, gardening or parenting. In the midst of writing I can catch the tail of thoughts that never presented themselves when I was in the thick of action, but the reflective writing brought them to the surface.

Work is a bit different, whereas my network has been preparing for a migration to a new ILS the last year. We hit bumps along the way, as can happen, but we keep going. Sometimes this process happens so fast, you wonder if you have time to reflect and discover answers to questions or problem-solve in the most efficient way. When you have a timetable in place and a hundred-and-a-half libraries to take care of, sometimes all you can do is keep doing. Whether it turns out as effective as can be may only be discovered down the road.

In regards to CPD23, it made me take a look at how I blog and whether I wanted to keep my professional and personal "identities" more separated. I think there is reason for it, even if it seems to split me apart at times. As I explored the different blogs that others have created or continued for this program, I realize I am not the only one to wonder about that. Many seem inclined to keep there professional blog "untainted", although there are definite exceptions.

My personal brand is one that seems pretty entrenched online now, although I think I am still building the professional side of it. I know that social awareness is important to me, as Twitter and now Google+ have become a daily part of my online tasks. The information and networking from these services is instrumental in gathering more information outside my own little microcosm. This is bolstered by RSS feeds on various topics.

As I continue to explore what is available to me on a professional level (Thing 6 & 7 bring online and in-person social networks) I want to broaden my reflection time, both for my own awareness and to hopefully supplement some of the training I do.